Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me

Decadent Theatre presents Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuinness- a timeless Irish classic by one of our most celebrated writers.

An Englishman, an Irishman and an American are locked up together in a cell in the Middle East. As victims of political action, powerless to initiate change, what can they do? How do they live and survive? This riveting drama explores the daily crisis endured by hostages whose strength comes from communication, both subtle and mundane, from humour, from wit and from faith. Over the course of their confinement the men exercise, playact, and argue in a way that is supportive to their mutual determination to survive.

The three display their national biases and prejudices, which are intensified in the cramped confines of their cell. As time passes, resentments and recriminations give way to an acknowledgement of their true characters’ strengths and weaknesses. They learn that humour is their surest weapon against their captors and the safest armour to protect themselves. They shoot imaginary films, sing songs, they play a fantastical game of tennis, they laugh at and with each other, and they learn to lament what was lost in their lives before captivity. Each comes to know himself through listening to the stories, sorrows and joys of the others. At the end of the play, they are capable of standing together and alone.